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Chapter One – I Was a Teenage Sci-Fi Geek The year was 1979, about 10 years before the birth of Taylor Swift herself, and I was building my own back-yard special effects department (better known as the family garage) where, along with a gang of after-school make-up artists, set designers, monster creators, shoe-string FX developers, and week-end model makers (better known as my elementary school friends), we created the world’s greatest Super-8 sci-fi and horror films (according to the unbiased…

Chapter One – This is life before you know who you’re going to be  Every famous artist can look back at the “before times,” representing their lives prior to their big break.  Similarly, futurists can pinpoint a “before foresight” and “after foresight” in their own timeline. I find it interesting, however, to reflect on my past self and recognize all of the underlying futurist traits and behaviors I demonstrated while being blissfully unaware that the field of foresight even existed. …

This October, I had the incredible opportunity to attend and speak at the WFSF’s Global Conference in Paris. Although I had previously attended several smaller foresight events, this was my first time experiencing such a large collection of futurists from around the world. It was an absolutely incredible experience in which I had the opportunity to learn and speak with some amazing people. Here are my takeaways from the event: The Best Conversations Would you like to be immortal? Several…

Futures Wheels are simple. In the center of the tool is the issue to be explored, surrounded by a series of concentric circles that increase in time further away from the subject. The exercise begins with identifying immediate consequences that result from the initial issue. Each ring that follows is further out in time and includes consequences of the ones before, like ripples from a pebble in a lake.

Former Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, Sophie Howe, shares her vision with TFSX Co-Founder Frank Spencer in this latest installment of Creating Foresight-Fueled Action. Her “Manifesto for the Future” proposes bold ideas like universal basic income to tackle the challenges of an aging population in a changing economy. Sophie believes embedding a foresight culture is key to driving progress. She states that we must nurture a system where leaders can lift their heads above today’s crises to envision – and…

What Can Crime Investigations Teach Us About Futures Intelligence? What does hunting for a killer have in common with hunting for signals? I’m so glad you asked! If you’ve watched any crime dramas or murder mystery flicks then you know the fearless detective always ends up standing in front of an evidence board, meticulously stretching yarn across push pins, noting connections between seemingly unrelated data points. https://vimeo.com/870049103/a0e8e8c1d0?share=copy With images, notes, and headlines connected with string or yarn, these visual collages…

In this interview, TFSX Principal Frank Spencer speaks with ARTEFACTO Founders Andrea Busquets and Pablo Reyes Arellano about their work with organizations and to “move social structures, improve quality of life, be disruptive, imagine what does not exist and bring it to life.”

In this edition of TFSX’s Creating Foresight-Fueled Action series, Principal Frank Spencer digs into the possibilities for thriving that stem from humanity’s desire to explore with physician, aquanaut, dive medical technician, speaker, martial artist, skydiver, and VP of Immersive Medicine at Luxsonic Technologies, Dr. Shawna Pandya.

In this video, Principal Frank Spencer (TFSX) interviews data & technology, education, cultural, and foresight experts Taylor Crain, aimee whitcroft, Christopher Rice, and Michael Compton as they look beyond the surface arguments surrounding AI to investigate how this technology speaks to our current narratives of hyper-efficiency, unlimited productivity, and Western rationality.

One thing often overlooked in the numerous descriptions of what makes a good futurist is the personal worldview of those doing trend hunting, pattern making, scenario writing, and speculative designing. Some of us are more pessimistic about the future; others lean toward believing in positive possibilities and outcomes. Some believe in the unlimited potential of humanity, while others see people as life’s biggest problem. Of course, there are many philosophical shades in-between these extremes. Still, one thing rings true no…